RNWMP: Bride for Theodore (Mail Order Mounties)(11)

Jess nodded, a smile playing at her lips. She took the proffered arm, walking with him. “It is unusual, but I tend to like unusual things.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “I’ve always insisted on working for a living, though I didn’t need to. I liked to contribute to my parents’ household.”

“You were a bank teller? Isn’t that what you said?”

“Yes, I was. I never much liked it except for paydays. When I could take money to my father to make his life easier, it always brought a smile to my face.”

He smiled at that. “I didn’t know women enjoyed that sort of thing. I thought they didn’t feel the need to be independent.”

“I’m not most women.” Jess let him show her the mercantile and the small church. “How many people live in the area? Do you have mostly farmers?”

He nodded. “The town built up when the railroad came through, and there were a few farmers who stayed. It’s barely enough people to support the mercantile, but the men here are good people. All hard workers.”

“Is there a saloon?” She hadn’t seen one, which surprised her a bit. In her mind, men who lived in the West were drinkers.

“Not here in town. There’s one the next town over, which is about an hour’s ride from here. Why? Do you need some whisky?”

She laughed. “Not particularly. I just had in my head that men out West were big drinkers. I don’t know where the idea came from.”

“I don’t either.” He led her out behind the main street and took the blanket she was holding over her free arm, spreading it on the ground. He sank onto the quilt, feeling a bit strange. He hadn’t been on a picnic in ages. Weren’t picnics for small children?

Jess pulled their plates and the ham sandwiches from the basket. She added a small amount of the potato salad she’d covered with cheese cloth to each plate, and poured them each a glass of lemonade from a jar she’d found. “I made enough ham for breakfast tomorrow as well.”

He smiled. “You’re going to spoil us, and we’re all going to be very sad when you’re gone. Usually we just eat each other’s cooking. We all hate to cook, so the meals are…well, they’re not always palatable.” He took a big bite of his sandwich and groaned softly. “You made fresh bread?”

She shrugged. “I had a little time this morning.” She didn’t tell him she’d also scrubbed down his walls and floors, and she planned to do all the laundry she could find the next day. She hated the idea that he had to do everything for himself.

“It’s wonderful. Did you make just one loaf?”

Jess shook her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were starving to death!”

“Not at all. But…I do get hungry for things I miss. Not one of us knows how to make bread, so we usually buy it from the mercantile, but it’s a couple of days old before they even get it there. Fresh bread is a welcome taste.”

“I’ll be sure to make it again while I’m here.” She took a bite of her own sandwich, watching him, but trying to do it without him noticing. “How often do you do paperwork?”

“Not too often. Usually Joel volunteers to do it, because he’s the commander of our small group, and it’s easier if he just does it. If one of us does it, then he has to spend a few minutes reading over it anyway.”

“Do you prefer paperwork or dealing with people?”

“Oh, I much prefer to do rounds. We have a wide territory, and with five of us, we can just barely make it everywhere in a week.” He took a bite of her potato salad, his eyes closing with pleasure. “Where did you learn to cook?”

She shrugged. “My mother taught me. I’ve always enjoyed playing with recipes, and I improved some of my mom’s.”

“I have never tasted better cooking. I didn’t think there was a woman alive who could cook better than Mom. You can!”

“Thank you. She spent a couple of weeks teaching me to make your favorite things before we came West, but I just kept making everything the way I always have. I hope that’s all right.”

He frowned at the reminder that she’d been brought to him as his bride. “I think your cooking is wonderful. You don’t need to change anything you do. Not for me.”

She continued eating, not certain how to respond to that. “Did you always want to be a Mountie?” she finally asked.

“Not until my father died. Do you remember what happened to him?”

She shook her head. “No, I remember when it happened but not what happened. I was really young.”

“Well, he’d gone on a business trip to the West, not far from where we are, actually. While he was out, he was murdered. His killer was never caught, because there were too few Mounties back then. I decided I would become a Mountie so no one else would ever have to wonder who killed their father.”

She reached out and took his hand before she realized what she was doing. “I’m so sorry, Constable Hughes.”

“Why are you so formal with me? You know my name.”

She shrugged. “You’ve never asked me to use your name. Your mother always calls you Teddy, and everyone else calls you Theodore. I didn’t know which name you preferred.”

“I’ve always preferred everyone call me Theodore, except my mother. I like her special nickname for me. Perhaps you would use my nickname as well? And call me Teddy?”